Russia is allowing more international flights to resume and ending the obligation for some employees to work from home from Wednesday as part of a loosening of coronavirus restrictions.
Flights to India, Vietnam and Finland, for example, were taking to the air once again, and in the capital, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin is allowing nightclubs and late-night eateries to open their doors.
The requirement that employers allow at least a third of their staff to work from home has also been lifted, though people with pre-existing conditions and older than 65 must still work remotely.
Moscow has already opened its museums again and allowed greater occupancy at theatres, cinemas and concert halls. Students have been back in school with face-to-face classes for a few days now.
Falling number of cases
The changes are in response to falling coronavirus case numbers, with Moscow recording 1,837 new cases on Wednesday, its lowest number of daily infections since the end of September. Across the country, 17,741 infections and 584 deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours.
Authorities also point to the vaccine campaign running since December as one reason for the drop.
However, there is believed to be a high number of unreported cases as not all infected people go to a doctor.
